


Ill-Tempered

by Akarri



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'll add more as they come up maybe?, Parental Roy Mustang, Roy is uncertain, Sick Character, Sickfic, Vomiting, delusional
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-04 18:57:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16352321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akarri/pseuds/Akarri
Summary: Edward returned to East City after allegedly completing a mission only to never deliver his report to Colonel Mustang. Tired of waiting, Roy sends Havoc to bring the young alchemist to the office, but later gets a call saying that Ed had been taken to the ER.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tried something a little new with this one. Wanted to try my hand at a sickfic, so all of this fluff was a little out of my comfort zone. It was fun though. I'll aim to update every other day, but I somehow decided to start posting this during a busy weekend. :')  
> Enjoy!

It was supposed to be a simple mission. But that was always how it went, wasn't it? Something stunningly easy _somehow_ became unnecessarily complicated thanks to none other than Edward Elric. All he was supposed to do was go to the small town of Cameron, a few measly miles away from East City, and repair some damages from a recent earthquake. Roy gave him almost a week to travel there and get it done, even while it could have technically been completed in half that time.

Edward must have realized that too, because he was seen back at the dorms days before his deadline. But of course, he never chose to send in his report or even call. Roy figured that he just wanted to wait until the due date. Fine, whatever. It was his own time he was wasting anyway, since Roy had already found another possible lead on the Philosopher's Stone for him.

But then the deadline came and went with still no word from the kid.

Sure, he was only fourteen years old, but he had done homework before, right? He was supposed to know how to do this. It wasn't hard to write up a report on what happened and put it on his superior officer's desk. The only possible excuse he could possibly fathom was pure laziness. And _that_ was something that Roy had absolutely no patience for.

The colonel absently tapped his pen against the edge of his desk as he held his head in his palm, glaring through his fingers at the paper in front of him that he pretended to read, eyes scanning over the words as his mind seethed quietly.

That kid was pushing his limits with every report he owed. Just being late was one thing, but having the _gall_ to show his face in this town without coming in to file the damn thing, making Roy wait for no reason at all...

He had about enough of it.

"Havoc," Roy barked suddenly, bringing many sets of eyes up towards him as he shamelessly broke the uncharacteristic focus that had filled the room. They had been drowning in extra paperwork lately, and it took many threats from Hawkeye to actually get the team to start chipping away at it, which made Edward's unfortunate timing all the worse.

"Yeah?" the second lieutenant answered abruptly, mildly startled.

"I want you to go to Fullmetal's dorm and bring him back here, kicking and screaming if you have to."

Havoc scoffed, clearly amused and possibly not quite understanding why Roy was so irritated by the matter. Relieved to get a break from the tedious paperwork, the eased grin remained even as he gave the colonel a lazy salute. "Sure thing, Boss. I'm on it."

And with that, the blond disappeared into the hall and Roy settled back into his chair, crossing his arms and eagerly planning out what he was going to say to the kid when they returned.

"You do plan on getting back to work now- right, sir?"

Broken out of his short-lived reverie, Roy looked up and blinked at Hawkeye, who had approached his desk with an arm-full of papers and folders, watching him dangerously.

"I am working," he corrected sharply, not quite understanding how she didn't see the importance of this matter.

"You haven't written a word in over twenty minutes."

"I-" He promptly shut his mouth when she quirked a brow at him, and his eyes somehow dropped down to the gun that rested by her hip. "Yeah, yeah," he relented with a sigh as he fought back the icy shudder that wanted to crawl down his spice.

"Good." Hawkeye then dropped the large stack of paper down on his desk and briskly turned away, effectively pulling the rug out from any satisfaction he might have previously felt.

* * *

There wasn't much of a reason as to why Havoc's mission should have taken more than a half hour. Once that mark hit, Roy pulled himself out of the mundane paperwork to glance at the clock and ponder it for a moment. But then again, Edward was a master procrastinator. Regardless, he trusted his lieutenant to get the job done, and went back to work.

And then a full hour had passed since he sent the man to fetch Fullmetal. Roy started to worry, fearing to wonder what kind of black hole Ed had sucked Havoc into. He considered sending someone to investigate, but was not eager to risk them disappearing to the same fate.

But before he had to come to a decision, his phone began to chime, abruptly jerking him out of his thoughts.

"Colonel Mustang," he answered automatically after clearing his throat.

"Hey Boss," Havoc's voice came from the other end in a tone that was difficult to read. But there was a seriousness behind it that simmered Roy's annoyance and replaced it with a careful curiosity.

"Havoc- what's taking you?"

There was a terse exhale in the line, hesitant and unsure, and made Roy sit a little straighter behind his desk. "Well... I found out why we haven't heard from him." He paused shortly, in which Roy nearly snapped at him to spit it out. "The kid's sick. He looked like he was gonna pass out by the time I got there, so I took him to the hospital- the emergency room, actually... Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Colonel, but this was the first free moment I got."

Whatever Roy had prepared when he picked up the phone had vanished during Havoc's explanation and left him with pathetically little. He worked his jaw for a moment, stunned that Ed had been sick enough to warrant going to a _hospital_ all this time without Roy knowing anything about it.

"...is he doing alright?"

"The doctors are looking at him now, so I'm not sure. But they said that they needed his _legal guardian_ to come down to sign some papers."

"Then just-" Roy started speaking before his mind could fully digest the words, and he cut himself off once it did. The responsibility of being Edward's legal guardian would fall to his superior officer; meaning Roy. "-oh." He glanced at Hawkeye, who barely had time to return the look before he turned back down at his desk and withheld a sigh. "I'm on my way."

Within seconds, he had ended the call and was standing from his desk, but not without drawing the attention of the Hawk's Eye.

"Going somewhere, sir?" she asked sternly, clearly ready to stand up and physically intercept him if need be. But of course, she didn't yet know that he actually had a good reason this time. And now that the thought occurred to him... Edward gave him a reason to get out of work. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad.

"Yes, lieutenant, I am," he answered all too smugly, earning a critically raised brow from the blonde. His faint smile dropped the moment the reason came back to him. "Havoc called to tell me that he had taken Fullmetal to the hospital. I need to meet them there and sign some papers."

Suddenly more eyes were on him, wiping away the guise that the others were not listening to their conversation. The obvious question on their lips floated through the air before they could get the words out.

"He must have caught something in Cameron and was too prideful to do anything about it. I'm sure he'll be fine in a day or two," Roy explained lightly as he boldly walked through the office, half expecting to be stopped at any moment.

"Perhaps one of us should go with you," Hawkeye suggested carefully, but the strict disapproval that resided in her eyes earlier was replaced by concern for the child. _To make sure you don't slack off_ whispered behind her words.

"There's no need. We'll only get less done if Fullmetal takes up that much attention. I'll be back in no time." He reached the door and cast a glance behind him, blinking almost in confusion when no one rose to tackle him before he could leave and get away from that damnable paperwork that waited in stacks on his desk, glaring back at him.

So he bid his team farewell and walked out into the hall and closed the door behind him, almost breaking into a sprint before Hawkeye could change her mind.

Once the threat of Hawkeye stopping him became a non-issue, he was able to switch his top priority over to Fullmetal. All of the best and worse case scenarios flooded his mind during the drive to the hospital. At the very least, the distraction made for a seemingly short trip.

He found himself walking through the front door within no time at all.

Roy was guided through the halls of the stark hospital not long after arriving, thank god. They didn't give much priority to a sick kid in comparison to the many patients with objectively worse conditions, but he was no stranger to throwing his rank around until he got what he wanted- or in the case of the female nurses, he only had to tell them how _worried_ he was for poor Edward before he had them eating out of the palm of his hand.

Worked every time.

But the charming smile and the elegant words fell from his lips once he finally reached the door of the emergency room that divided him from his young subordinate.

Withholding a sigh, Roy reached forward to push the door open. But before any contact was made, the door swung open and revealed Havoc on the other side, pausing just short of running into him.

"Boss?" he stuttered for a moment, working his jaw until he managed to coerce the words. "I was just about to-"

"About time!" the irate voice of Fullmetal called from inside the room. Roy cast a quick glance at the tired lieutenant before stepping around him and into the room.

Contrary to any of his wildest fears, Edward looked relatively alright. Paler than usual and drowned out from the bleaching white of the bed that he sat in, he still looked back at Roy with a familiar energy in his eyes that shined through the wariness that came with being sick. An IV was strapped to his flesh arm, but he otherwise looked like he would have had little difficulty standing up and walking out of that room.

"So you're sick, huh?" he asked as he studied the kid's appearance. He certainty seemed lively enough, but there was no mistaking what he saw with being completely healthy.

Edward dropped his gaze, brow furrowed in a halfhearted glare towards the bed sheets. "I guess. But I told Havoc that I didn't need to come here," he muttered.

"Hey," the lieutenant in question muttered as he crossed his arms, apparently in disagreement with the statement but not willing to argue it at the moment.

"Have we figured out what the problem was?" the colonel asked, glancing around the room for anything that would answer his question, but finding nothing of interest. Earlier, Havoc said that the kid looked like he would pass out at any moment, but that certainly wasn't what Roy was seeing.

"Last I heard, they're not sure," Fullmetal groaned and slumped further into the bed with a weak scowl.

"They _think_ it's food poisoning.," Havoc supplied with a small frown. "A nurse was in here just a bit ago. They said that there's nothing they can do for him at this point, but he should be fine after a while. We were just waiting on you now so he can be released."

"Now if you wouldn't mind signing those release papers," Edward added and trailed off pointedly with a hint of sarcasm, without so much as a _hello_ or a _sorry I didn't report back in on time and failed to tell you that I was sick._

But what should he have expected? Fullmetal didn't seem to be feeling _too_ unwell. Roy had to wonder why Havoc thought bringing him to the hospital like this was justified, but didn't care to ask at the moment since it was getting him out of work.

"You certainly seem to be in a rush," Roy commented casually as he approached the end of the bed, earning an annoyed scowl from the kid as he smiled back. "Are you late for something? Turning in a report, perhaps? If that were the case, of course I would understand."

But bringing up the report did not extract the expected response. Instead of waving it off as if it were the least important thing in his world, Edward started faintly and managed to look worried about something for a brief moment, before blinking out of it and hiding whatever thoughts he had caught a glimpse of under a mask.

"Uh- yeah, yeah, I'll take care of it. Just sign the damn papers already so I can get out of here," he huffed as he moved to cross his arms only for the IV line to get caught on his automail. He fumbled with it as Roy sighed and glanced dubiously at Havoc, who was quietly watching by the door.

"Alright, alright," he breathed with a dismissive wave of his wrist. "I'll hunt down the doctor. Maybe you can write up that report as you wait."

"God damn, you're obsessed. Don't you have anything else on your mind?" Ed scoffed as Roy turned back towards the door and pulled it open.

"Nope. My life revolves around your late field reports. Don't let me down, Fullmetal," he responded as he was already out the door with a sarcastic indifference.

"Bastard," he heard the kid call back, but Roy only smirked as he entered into the hall, subconsciously ignoring how his insult wasn't filled with as much fire or ferocity as usual.

Mind already far from the subtle concern, he scanned his eyes down the hall and chose a direction in hopes of finding the correct doctor somehow and getting this over with. Getting away from the office was nice while it lasted, but he wasn't about to go out of his way to stay here with Ed any longer than necessary.

"Hey Boss, wait up." Roy slowed his stride to allow Havoc to fall into step besides him with ease. "Listen, he was much worse just an hour ago. He was curled up in the corner of his dorm and didn't even notice me right away."

"Then that was a quick turnaround," he replied easily with a slight shrug of his shoulders, finding it rather difficult to empathize based on how Ed was just doing.

He heard a dissatisfied groan from the lieutenant. "Whatever the doctors gave him must have helped, but I think he's partly faking it."

"I don't see what I can do about that. If they say that he's good to be released, then that's all there is to it."

Havoc didn't reply, but was clearly unsatisfied by the response. He probably wanted Edward to stay longer just in case, but as he had just told him, there was nothing more the hospital could do. As far as Roy could see, all of this was unnecessary to begin with. Better safe than sorry, he reasoned, but there was no need to drag it out. If the kid did just eat something bad, then they could only wait it out.

"Relax, Havoc. Fullmetal is going to be fine. Once I sign the release forms, I'll drive him to his dorm and meet you back at the office."

The blond opened his mouth to argue, but promptly shut it, hopefully finding no use in arguing with the colonel on this matter. "Yes sir," he agreed reluctantly and continued to follow in silence.

* * *

The drive back to the military dorms was quiet. Despite how vocal Fullmetal was earlier, he had shut his mouth since he stood from the bed. He moved tensely and didn't put up much of a fight when the nurse insisted on having him use a wheelchair until they got to the entrance of the hospital. He did of course fight a little; claimed it was pointless and that he could walk just fine. He gave in more easily than he would have before, which was a detail Roy doubted many would notice.

The colonel drove his car alongside the ER entrance as Edward waited with Havoc, sitting with arms crossed in the wheelchair that he claimed he did not need. But as Roy watched him slowly stand up, struggling to morph his expression into something not so strained, he began to have doubts. Perhaps the warning Havoc game him had more merit than he had originally thought.

The lieutenant said something to the kid that was muted to Roy through the car as he wheeled up closer. Just the few short steps from the sidewalk to the back seat of the car seemed to exhaust Edward and he suddenly looked paler upon sitting back down, eyes glaring at the back of the seat in front of him as he tried and failed to look composed.

Roy watched through the rear view mirror, torn between saying something and remaining silent. It was an excellent opportunity to poke at the kid's annoying pride, but at the same time, just how much pain was he in? He would be fine, right?

The hospital said there was nothing more they could do for him. But once Roy found the doctor, he learned that that wasn't necessarily a good sign. He was told that they did indeed believe it to be food poisoning or something of the like, but they still wanted someone to keep an eye out on the kid. They advised that he remain under supervision. Apparently, they were worried that he would pass out and hurt himself.

Which brought up another question that Roy did not yet want to ask yet: where was Alphonse? Why was this supervision being passed onto Roy instead of the kid's doting brother?

The question sat on his tongue for several heavy minutes as he began driving away from the hospital, glancing back at Ed every few seconds, but he found himself hesitant to ask.

The blond was leaning against the door, eyes shut tightly as his arms were wrapped around himself.

"Hey, are you doing alright?"

"Fine," Edward shot back without allowing a beat to pass, cracking his eyes open only to glare at the colonel through thin slits.

Roy promptly shut up after that, feeling all sense of smug superiority drain away with every passing second he spent in the car. He never had any idea how to deal with these situations, especially with _kids_. At this point, he didn't want to taunt Ed for being sick or reprimand him for not turning in the report- he just want him to get better so he wouldn't have to deal with... whatever this situation was.

And so, the remainder of the car ride was silent. Edward slowly began to relax, but he would tense up every time Roy drove over a bump or had to take a turn. Meanwhile, the colonel's mind was racing, trying to figure out if he _actually_ needed to stay and watch over him. He hadn't put much thought into the suggestion while they were at the hospital when he assumed that Fullmetal was still fine. He figured it was one of those things that doctors said to do that no one actually did.

No, surely Edward would be fine. He just needed some rest. And Alphonse... he would return soon enough. Since the older kid wasn't worried about his lacking presence, then everything had to be fine. Right?

… _right._

Roy pulled up to the dorms, driving very carefully at this point, and turned off the car before twisting to look back at Fullmetal. He studied him for a moment before saying anything, pursing his lip when the kid did not react to parking- barely seemed to notice that they had arrived.

"You ready to go in?"

Edward pulled his eyes open and nodded without looking at the man. He slowly shifted to open the car door, which prompted Roy to do the same, albeit much faster.

He was relieved to see that the blond managed to stand up straight without looking like he would soon keel over. Ordinarily, he would have just left the kid there and gone on his merry way back to work. He allowed himself to hope that Ed was just overly susceptible to car sickness at the moment, but as it were, something still urged him to follow his subordinate up to his dorm.

"I don't need a babysitter," Edward huffed once he noticed that the colonel planned on following him inside.

"Believe me, Fullmetal: I don't want to stay anymore than you want me to. But it won't kill either of us if I just follow you to your door."

Edward just grumbled something about a bastard and trudged on ahead, slumping his shoulders as he walked. He made it difficult to tell if walking was painful or if he was just tired, but Roy followed quietly all the same, keeping a careful eye on him as they continued down the hall of the dormitory.

Again, more silence during their journey. Edward did a decent job hiding how much of a struggle it was to walk- and for a moment, Roy almost began to believe that he was doing better already.

It was when they turned a corner and entered the hall where the Elric's dorm was located that Roy looked away from him. He counted the upcoming doors until he found the correct one, and he began to wonder yet again if he would be required to stay. If Edward didn't need him (god knew why he even _would_ ), then he didn't see any reason why he would need to supervise a fully capable state alchemist.

"Ugh...hey M-Mu..."

Roy spun around the moment he heard Edward's suddenly quiet, weakened voice just in time to see him stumble over his own feet and slouch to the side, lacking the strength needed to keep himself from sliding down the wall and collapsing to the ground all in one swift motion.

A sharp jolt spiked through Roy's nerves and he hastily knelt down in front of the kid, keep him from curling in on himself by holding him up by the shoulders. His golden eyes flickered, then tightened with a grimace as he was hit by a tremor of pain.

"Fullmetal- what's wrong? Fullmetal!"

"Stop yelling," he groaned without opening his eyes, weakly waving a hand in Roy's direction. "M' fine."

"Do I need to take you back to the hospital?"

"No!" he snapped a little too quickly, cracking his eyes open to stare back at the colonel. "Just- just help me to my dorm, and I'll be fine."

If the fact that Edward was asking for _help_ wasn't enough of a red flag, than Roy didn't know what was. Perhaps it was his naive hope that this would blow over in a day or two, but he agreed and rose to his feet, pulling Fullmetal up with him to drag his half-conscious body into the dorm.


	2. Chapter 2

Roy couldn't allow himself to be slowed down by the powerful scent of illness that assaulted his senses the moment he pushed the door open with his shoulder, using both arms to support Edward. The kid had all but given up on standing for himself, too heavily weakened by whatever was disorienting him. As concerning as that was, at least it allowed Roy to basically carry him into the room and drop him on the disgruntled bed without much complaint besides a pained groan every now and again.

As soon as he made contact with the mattress, Ed immediately curled into a unyielding ball and tightly clenched the sheets in his fists, almost as if he was no longer aware of Roy's presence. Meanwhile, the colonel watched him hesitantly for a moment, then looked up to study the room. The lights were turned off and the blinds were drawn as tightly as they could have, allowing a sparse amount of sunshine to break in. More light crept in from the bathroom, but with the door only slightly ajar, it did little to lighten the gloom that occupied the small dorm.

The room itself was an absolute mess. Every surface was covered with loose papers and stacks of large research books, many of which spread onto every chair as well as the floor. It was safe to say that Roy was stuck with standing; not like he felt comfortable doing anything else at the moment. His mind was still reeling from Fullmetal passing out in the hallway. And now that the blond was just... laying there, he was at a complete loss of what to do.

"You can leave now," he heard Edward mutter from his nest of a bed. He had unwound himself slightly and shifted to sit up with some obvious difficulty, like he had just then become aware that he wasn't alone.

Roy furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about? I don't think I should be going anywhere."

Edward tilted his head slightly, expression utterly dumbfounded. "But- but you said you were gonna leave."

"Yeah, well that was before you fainted in the hall."

"I-" he muttered something incomprehensible under his breath before looking up at the colonel again with a weak stubbornness in his golden eyes. "I'm fine, Mustang. I won't get better any faster if you just stand over me the whole time."

"The doctors said you needed someone here with you. Looks like I'm the only one who can do that right now," he said sternly, thoughts again brought to the younger brother. Something told him that it wasn't yet the best time to bring that up and he bit his tongue.

For a moment, Edward only sulked at his response, giving Roy a moment to examine the room yet again. "Don't you have anything around here that might help? More pain meds, or maybe something for nausea," he said, more or less speaking to himself now as he pushed the door to the restroom open and began heedlessly shifting through the drawers, despite the minor breach of privacy. Ed didn't say anything to stop him, so that was good enough for him.

But it proved to be pointless in the end. Besides the startling amount of research material, the Elrics did not seem to have many possessions, which included anything that might have been even remotely helpful while sick.

Roy had given up on finding anything of use in the backroom and stood in the doorway, looking over the Elric's room with arms crossed and an uncomfortable kind of concentration taking up his visage. "Really, Colonel, you don't need to be here," Edward said again with a particular amount of intent in his hoarse voice.

Roy audibly huffed without looking at the kid, making an effort to keep the mix of irritation, worry, and general discomfort from taking over. Just minutes ago, he was adamant on leaving the moment he could get the chance. He had been blatantly ignoring just how unwell Edward was, ignored Havoc's warnings, but he couldn't very well ignore it now that the kid's conditions had slapped him across the face.

"Apparently I do need to be here," he willed himself to say as calmly as possible. "What if you pass out again? And since Alphonse isn't here…"

"It's fine!" Edward snapped, eyes downcast at the sheets as his knuckles turned white around the fabric. Roy paused at his tone, at a loss for words as he figured out what exactly was making the kid so stubborn: fear. "I don't need anyone's help. Just leave; _please._ "

Of course. Edward hasn't said anything about Al's absence not because he was fine with it, but because he was afraid. He was afraid of being unable to take care of himself, he no doubt wishes his brother was there with him, and he was probably afraid of letting Roy see him like this. It was likely a deep blow to his prideful image, but something warned Roy in the back of his head that there was more to it that he could see. There was more to this situation, but if he was going to find out what it was, he need to be tactful. Attempting to strong-arm the fiery kid wasn't known to ever end well.

The desire to sit down and reason with him hit, but with another glance around, Roy was quickly reminded that there was literally no where to sit.

"Listen, Fullmetal," he ordered wearily, earning only a half-lidded glance in response. "Neither of us like this situation, but there's no getting out of it. Havoc probably told Hawkeye everything by now. If I show my face there, she'll shoot me for ignoring your doctor's orders. All that's left to do is wait for this to blow over. I'm sure we can cooperate long enough for that to happen if we put our minds to it. What do you say?"

Edward watched him distrustfully for a moment, then relented to sliding onto his side and curling up on the bed again. Roy caught a brief glimpse of reluctance and embarrassment before his eyes shut and were hidden by the folds of the sheets. "Fine, whatever…"

He supposed that was the most positive answer he could have hoped for. Withholding a sigh, Roy unfolded his arms to stuff his hands into his pockets as he continued to awkwardly take up space in the center of the room. "Couldn't the hospital have given you something for the pain?"

"Yeah," Ed replied, his voice muffled once again.

"Did they?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I didn't ask."

Roy allowed himself to pinch the bridge of his nose and exhale slowly, mostly because the ill alchemist wasn't looking at him. "Honestly Fullmetal, I do not understand you sometimes."

Edward just shrugged weakly from the bed.

"…And they said this was food poisoning? Any idea what you ate that caused it?"

A rough groan, softened by the sheets, was Ed's immediate response. "Can we leave the interrogation for when I don't feel like shit?"

"I suppose, but-"

"If you insist on staying here," Ed began, voice lacking his usual brazen attitude and growing weaker with every syllable, "why don't you just read a book or something and shut up?"

Roy expelled a deep sigh as he looked around his surroundings once more, and finally gave in to sitting on the ground. However, he did not reach for one of the many textbooks that surrounded him, mind churning far too quickly to have any hope of focusing on the words.

He didn't really have much reason to get too worried, right? Everyone got sick, and food poisoning was relatively common. There wasn't much to do besides wait it out. For all the reasons that Edward had been hospitalized, this was probably the least concerning. Roy had always been concerned for him whenever he heard about his subordinates most recent admission, but just like earlier that day, the blond was always revving with energy and demanding to be released from the white-walled prison. If memory served, Roy had never really seen him get like this before, excluding the time they met back in Resembool- if that even counted.

If Alphonse were there, gently chastising Ed for being foolish, then Roy would have felt monumentally better about the whole thing. That was what really put him on edge: the fact that Al was nowhere to be seen, and that Ed did not want to talk about it.

"Fullmetal." He heard a slight shift of the bedding, but no confirmation that he was heard. "Are you awake? Edward?"

"What," he replied at last, audibly tired. Perhaps Roy should just be quite and let him sleep…

"Where is Alphonse?" Normally, Roy would have considered not asking at all, when the kid so plainly did not want to talk about it and did not seem particularly worried for his brother's well-being, as he always was. But Ed wished he was there more than he was willing to admit, and it was hurting him. There had to be a good reason as to why they were separated and doing nothing about it. Even while sick, Ed would have said something if he believed his brother to be in danger. And likewise, Roy couldn't imagine Al willingly staying away when Ed was this ill.

But again, no response, no movement, nothing. The colonel allowed the prolonged silence this time, listening carefully to it, trying to gather anything he could just off of how tense the kid seemed. He was beginning to think he would get no answer at all- that Ed would allow that somehow damning question to be the last thing to float in the air. Until finally, he cleared his throat- it was a weak and admittedly fragile sound that tugged sadly at something in Roy's chest.

"Cameron," he croaked out reluctantly with a hint of defeat in his broken tone.

Cameron, the small town that Roy had sent the brothers to for a simple reconstruction mission. The question of _why_ hung off the tip of his tongue, but Ed could sense it before the word came out.

"He practically threw me onto the train when I got sick and insisted on finishing my job for me," he explained, almost too quietly for Roy to hear through the thin sheets that he had covered his head with. "You weren't supposed to find out."

"…But even accounting for only one of you, it shouldn't take this long to repair the bridge. Why is he still there?"

"Uh... I..." Roy craned his neck to look over the edge of the bed when Edward trailed off, seeing him hunched over and turned away from him, positioned like he was stuck in the motion of sitting up. The colonel remained as a silent observer, unsure as to what was happening, until realization struck the moment he saw Ed's shoulder quiver. As if on cue, Ed suddenly straightened up without turning to look at the older alchemist and scrambled off of the bed. By the time Roy managed to push himself to his feet, the blond had fled into the restroom and kicked the door behind him,unknowingly leaving it open by a crack.

Rough, gaspish coughing came from the other room, and Roy was frozen to the spot for a beat, torn between giving him privacy and rushing in to ensure he was alright. Edward was infamously independent and abhorred showing any weakness to anyone, except maybe his brother behind closed doors. Would any part of him appreciate it if Roy burst in there to comfort him?

The mental image of doing so made the colonel want to squirm uncomfortably, seeing as such an action crossed over so many lines that the two alchemists had tacitly drawn years ago. But to just stand there, _uselessly,_ as his subordinate was suffering- Roy couldn't bring himself to do it.

He gathered up his nerve and pushed the door open, eyes immediately falling on the blond as he sat on the tile floor in front of the toilet with his head hanging over the bowl. His back arched out and shoulders quivered as noiseless coughs and gags tore up his body, trying and failing to dispel whatever was troubling his stomach.

Despite how confident Roy forced himself to be upon walking it, it all dissipated the moment he stepped inside. No longer was it an issue of consoling his stubborn subordinate; now he had to figure out how to deal with a sick, vulnerable child.

Kicking himself into gear, Roy gingerly knelt down besides the kid who didn't seem to notice his presence, holding his hands out as if to do... _something_. What was he even supposed to do?! Give him a pat on the back and say that it'll all be okay? Hold his hair back and tell him to _hang in there_ , as if that would help?

Roy glanced over to the kid's hair once the thought struck him, relieved to see that it was already tied back. He hadn't thought about it before, but god did that sound awkward. He dodged one situational bullet, but there was still the matter of Edward throwing up his entire stomach.

The kid retched over the bowl again, his entire body quivering until he slackened, each breath heavy and cracking from exhaustion. Roy placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling him tense in response. Whether that was because of the contact or because of something entirely different, he had no way of knowing for sure. But otherwise, Edward didn't pay any attention to him, focusing solely on each intake of breath.

A moment passed where neither alchemist moved. It didn't seem like Ed had actually managed to get anything out, quite possibly because there was nothing in his stomach to begin with. Roy quickly decided to do something about that just as the kid expelled a shuddering sigh that sounded to be just a pitch short of a sob. He seemed to have murmured something under his breath that Roy wasn't able to make out, despite his best efforts.

"You think you're done?" he asked softly without realizing that he had at some point begun to lightly draw circles on Ed's back with his palm in a subconscious desire to help.

Without giving him a direct response, Ed carelessly laid his forehead against the edge of the bowl, undulating misery.

Roy pursed his lip, hesitant to speak. "Are... you alright?"

"No," Edward huffed in a single pained breath that sounded far too defeated than he was prepared for. "I was... I shoulda been there... I-" He coughed and shivered violently.

"Edward?"

The kid groaned through his teeth and began to slouch bonelessly to the side until he was curled on the bathroom floor with Roy kneeling helplessly next to him.

He was terrible at this...

"I need to..." Ed trailed off again as he tightened his grip around himself, drawing his legs closer to his chest.

"What are you talking about?" the colonel asked, primarily just for the sake of saying _something_ as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do here.

"Al," Ed croaked arduously. "He's alone. I- I gotta-" Again, the kid cut himself off as he tensed in pain.

It was at this point that Roy had made up his mind. It was easy assume that Ed wasn't going to miraculously start making sense, and he wasn't going to decide to get off the floor either.

"Come on Fullmetal, let's get you back to the bed," he stated gently as he tried to inject as much conviction into his tone as possible, despite feeling terribly out of his element. "Can you stand?"

Edward again mumbled something that was impossible to make out, but judging by how he curled up into an even tighter ball, it did not inspire much confidence.

"I'm not going to let you lay on the backroom floor. Let's go. Come on," he tried to cajole without much success.

"Don't wanna," he heard Ed say through his wrapped arms, which he took to mean that he did not want to move at all.

"I'm gonna pick you up if I have to."

"No," he drawled petulantly.

Roy clicked his tongue and shifted into position. "Don't say I didn't warn you." And with that, he leaned down and scooped the blond into his arms, which thankfully wasn't met with a heavy amount of resistance. Edward groaned in disapproval, but persistently remained in his tight ball. It took a surprisingly amount of effort on Roy's part to actually lift the kid and himself up thanks to the extra weight of the automail, but he bit his tongue and bellied the strain.

Walking him into the main room, Roy carefully set him down onto the bed, allowing Edward to quickly return to his nest of blankets and sheets

The colonel stepped back and crossed his arms with his brow furrowed, unbeknownst to the child before him.

Roy's intentions were good enough, but he couldn't help but doubt that he was really helping. Sure, Ed would have still been on the floor if it wasn't for him, but for all he knew, it was Roy's choice to bring up Al that sent him there in the first place.

The lingering question of what exactly Alphonse was going in Cameron hung over his head like a daunting weight as his cynical mind jumped to assume the worst. Except given the Elric's history, he was likely no longer capable of accurately guessing. The only way to find out was to ask one of them, but he wasn't overly eager to bring it up to Edward again.

And given the situation, he didn't exactly have time to find Al.

First things first.

Despite how deeply curiosity clawed at his mind, Edward's health was the most pressing matter. And if he played his cards right, he could hit two birds with one stone.

Roy circled around the bed until he reached the phone. As he picked up the handset, Edward looked up with tired yet suddenly alert eyes. "What are you doing?" he asked hollowly.

"Calling the office. I'm going to see if Hawkeye can bring over some medicine for you." And once she arrived, he would pull her aside and ask her to look into Al's whereabouts.

"Wha- I don't need any medicine. Thought I told you that."

"Clearly," Roy droned as he typed in the numbers, "you don't know what you need."

Edward again called him a bastard under his breath as he turned over in the bed, keeping his back to the colonel. "Well I'm not gonna take any."

 _We'll see about that_ , Roy thought as he held the handset up to his ear and leaned against the wall, all while keeping a watchful eye on Edward.


	3. Chapter 3

Roy set down the phone, feeling some of the weight already lift from his shoulders. The moment he asked Hawkeye to go out to the store and buy something for Edward, she had readily taken over the reigns before he could give further instructions as if she had read his mind, which honestly wasn't too surprising. Havoc surely filled her in by then anyway. All that was left was to wait for her to arrive.

With a satisfied exhale, Roy turned back to scan the dim room, catching Edward watching him from within the folds of the blankets for a fraction of a second before he buried himself once again, continuing to tightly grip the sheets with every muscle pulled taut. He seemed like he was trying to hide it, but there was no mistaking the sheen of sweat painting his forehead and the pale comportment from having the vitality sapped out of him.

The boy looked absolutely miserable after trying and failing to throw up whatever bug was in his system. Roy knew he should eat something, but feared his body would just reject it the moment he swallowed anything.

"When was the last time you've eaten?" Roy asked, only then realizing how abruptly he broke the silence that filled the air since he hung up the phone.

Several beats passed before Edward so much as reacted to his question, only deigning to grace him with a weary glance at first. "...I dunno."

"You don't- what? Work with me, Fullmetal."

"Fine," Edward muttered as he lumbered to turn onto his other side. "Sometime yesterday, I guess."

"You guess," Roy heard himself echo incredulously, hoping his clipped tone made it clear how unhelpful Ed was being. "Maybe I should go down to the cafeteria and get you something."

Speaking mostly to himself, the colonel did not expect to hear a sudden shuffle from the sheets as Ed pulled himself to look up. "No," Edward replied far too quickly and stumbled to recover. "No, that- you don't need to. I can't keep anything down anyway." He slumped back down into the bed, again turned away from the older alchemist and hugging a bundle of sheets.

Roy subtly peered over to read the kid's expression and noticed a warm tint to his cheeks. It could have been from pure embarrassment, but his curiosity was piqued all the same. He mutely leaned over and felt Ed's forehead with the back of his hand, earning a startled flinch and a shallow yelp in response. He pulled away just before his hand could get bitten off.

"H-hey!" Edward snapped, shuffling further away from him.

"It's going to be rather difficult to take care of you if you keep fighting me off," Roy sighed, eyes jumping from his own hand to Fullmetal's warm skin as if doing so would spell out the answers to him.

"I don't need someone to _take care_ of me," he growled through his teeth, but his gaze dropped to look elsewhere, eyes shadowed by what he dared to call doubt.

Roy let the silence drag on for a moment, tasting the response in his mouth as he wondered if it was worth saying. "You may be getting a fever," he eventually decided. It didn't seem too bad yet- he was just a little warm. Maybe it was nothing. Time would tell, he supposed…

"I-" Edward began quickly until the words caught up with him, stilling his tongue.

Dissatisfaction swelled the longer he watched the young alchemist's blatant stubbornness. Just as he began to say something- to chide the kid for not cooperating- the phone began to ring. Edward clawed into the sheets and pulled himself over to the nightstand and picked up the phone before Roy could even turn to face it. He held the handset closely to his ear, expression tense from both the exertion required to get there so quickly and the distrust that settled on Roy, as if challenging him to try taking it away.

Roy just stared, utterly lost as to what was happening.

Apparently satisfied that Roy wasn't going to wrestle him for the phone, Edward cleared his throat and answered the line with a "hello" that sounded far more alive and energized than he truly was. "Al!" he said a second later, lips falling into an eased smile, looking as if he had forgotten about the rest of the world. He must have been expecting to get a call from his brother, and never bothered to share this fact with Roy."How is uh... _it_ going?"

Roy failed to realize just how worried he was for the younger Elric until he felt a great sigh escape his lips upon hearing the kid's name. And Edward certainly didn't seem too worried, but he did insinuate that Al was working on something, which was really the only possibility as to why he wouldn't be here. Being quite accustomed to looking three steps ahead, Roy easily predicted that even if the phone call went well, Edward would refuse to tell him anything about it. If he were to get any understanding of what the hell was happening, he couldn't rely purely on Edward's good grace. It was time to act.

The colonel took a hasty step forward and effortlessly swiped the phone out from Edward's hand. He was admittedly satisfied by the animalistic yowl he heard as he turned his back to him, quietly holding the phone up.

" _Everything's fine, there's no need for you to worry, Brother,"_ Alphonse's voice said through the phone, completely unaware that Roy had stolen it. _"I bumped into two of those thugs this morning and got them to tell me where their hideout is before I gave them to the police. They didn't know anything about the poison, so-"_

"P-poison?!" Roy heard himself gasp without thinking just as Edward was getting ready to jump on his back in order to get the phone.

" _C-C-Colonel Mustang?"_ Al exclaimed frantically from the other side of the line. " _W-when did you- I didn't say- w-what?"_

Roy whirled around to face Edward, who was on his knees at the edge of the bed, face contorted from the strain of movement, readying himself to lunge for the phone, stopped only by the sharp, disapproving glare that was turned onto him.

"What is this about poison?" he snapped at both Elrics, simmering the fight in Ed's eyes by the outrage in his voice. Edward grimaced as his gaze shot to the ground.

" _I-it's not how it sounds. It's just a theory. We don't really know if- if anything was uh..."_ Alphonse scrambled to explain, trailing off as each word sounded increasingly tense as if something was physically keeping him from speaking.

Without warning, Edward grabbed hold of the phone's wire that had been stretched nearly as far as it could, and pulled back on it, slipping the handset out of Roy's grip. Before the man could react, he muttered a quick apology to his brother before slamming the handset down back on its base, ending the call. He then dared to glare up at Roy with yet another challenge in his eyes.

"Edward," he began coolly, willing his voice to stay calm despite the frustration that squirmed underneath. An outburst would only serve to make Ed shut himself up in retaliation. "Tell me what happened in Cameron. Alphonse said something about encountering some _thugs_ and finding their _hideout_? What was he talking about? What did you two get involved in?"

Another harsh, pained grimace as Edward settled back onto the bed only because his writhing body demanded it. "It's nothing to worry about," he grumbled lamely, perfectly aware of how unconvincing his weak argument was, judging by how he worked his jaw as if struggling to add more. "It's just- it's not how it sounds, okay? Just drop it."

Roy just shook his head for a moment, mind already reeling to plan his next actions. "Alright, that's it," he sighed decisively, causing Ed to look up at him in worry. "I'm not going to just stand around after that. I'm going to take you back to the hospital, and send a team to retrieve Alphonse." He could just have to call Hawkeye once he arrived.

Fullmetal gaped at him for a short moment as Roy stepped over to the door, then turned back to judge if he needed to carry the kid who was inching further against the headboard of the bed.

"Hold on, I'm not going back to any damn hospital," he said in a low, fearful tone, lacking the energy to respond quite as viciously as he otherwise might have.

"You're being unreasonable," Roy barked as he approached the bed again, deciding that Edward wasn't going to come willingly without a fight.

"No I'm not," Edward grumbled back through his teeth as his narrowed eyes followed Roy carefully. "They said there was nothing more they could do anyway!"

"You didn't look nearly as bad when you were there." The colonel circled around to the side of the bed, shoulders set as he was determined to get Ed some real help and then focus on finding Al. His heart was thumping in his chest and he had to fight to keep his surroundings from spinning as the fear from that phone call plowed into him. He immediately began to assume the worst, sickened by the thought that he could have done something sooner if only he knew... "Edward, this is serious. If these people- whoever they are- if they _poisoned_ you, then I can't afford to let you deny help because of some foolish notion that you don't _need_ it!"

He reached over the edge of the bed and grabbed Ed's left arm and pulled back on him in an attempt to drag him off of the bad, urgency coursing through his veins as if he could hear a countdown ticking with every second. It took the blond a moment to gather the strength required to fight back. He managed to curl his automail hand around the bed frame before he could get pulled off.

"I'm not going! You can't make me!"

"What is your problem? Why are you so insistent?"

"I can't help Al from inside a hospital." Edward's strength diminished quickly, forcing him to settle for a stalemate of sorts. Roy knew he could have easily overpowered him at this point, but in spite of his conviction, he was not eager to win so easily against the kid who had always been so strong before.

"As you are now, you couldn't help him no matter where you are. You're only slowing me down. Aren't you worried about him?"

"No, I'm not," Edward snapped, finally gathering the strength to yank back on his arm. Roy let go before he could be pulled over the bed, forced to hesitate from Ed's response. "That's not... what the problem is," he continued reluctantly, pulling his eyes away and gingerly holding onto his own wrist, causing a small pang of guilt in Roy's chest, but one he was far too worried to consider at the moment.

"Then what _is_ the problem?"

"I-" Ed cut himself off just as Roy expected him to erupt. He scowled as he watched the colonel for a moment, apparently deciding that there was no way to win this argument. He seemed to lose some of the tension, but considering how much remained, that wasn't saying much. "For a broken bone or something, fine. But when it comes to stuff like this, I don't want anything to do with them."

"You realize how irrational that is?"

"I don't care!" Ed returned to a more comfortable position against the headboard and wrapped his arms around his drawn-up knees to hide the shaking. "I don't care. I don't care. I don't _care._ "

Something gave Roy the feeling that he was encroaching on something he wasn't meant to see, and digging into old wounds that should have healed.

An unknown force stopped Ed's insistent chant mid-word, cutting him off abruptly as his eyes widened in horror for a moment, before shutting tightly. He threw a quivering hand up to his mouth, shoulders tensing as his automail hand nearly ripped through the blanket in its vice-grip. The muscles in his throat worked themselves despite Edward's attempt to stop them, and the rest of his body shivered against his will.

Roy paused, argument left frozen in his mouth as something prodded at the back of his head, telling him to do something. But for what felt like several long seconds, Roy only stammered voicelessly, struggling to fight past the blockade of hesitation that manifested in front of him.

"Are- are you going to throw up? I, uh- I can find a..." Roy's mind was immediately pulled away from the conversation as he wildly glanced around the room for something that could help, but the piles of books disorganized his suddenly panicked view, which was already hindered by the general darkness of the room.

But before he could be of any use, Edward stiffly shook his head, remained in his strained position for a moment, then slackened somewhat, allowing his hand to fall to his lap. He slumped further against the headboard and cracked his eyes open as he stared distantly up at nothing, each breath heavy and forced.

"D-don't take me back there, Mustang," he breathed, again sapped of all remaining energy. He then continued in a breathless exhale, almost too quietly for Roy to hear. "Please- please don't."

It was almost unfair how easy it was for the kid to pull the rug out from under him. The pathetic, shameless weakness in his voice- it wasn't just the delusion of being sick that was influencing how much he gave away to the colonel. Roy was reminded yet again that the kid was scared.

"Ed... what are you so afraid of?"

He expected Ed to again insist that he wasn't afraid. But that fiery denial never came, and he just stared down, pulling his knees up to huddle himself in his arms. "I... I thought I was going to die."

"…At the hospital?"

"No," Edward groaned weakly as he shifted to lay back on his side, huddled up in a ball of misery. "Before- when Havoc found me."

"But then why wouldn't you want to go to the hospital? They helped you, didn't th-"

"They didn't do anything!" Edward rose his voice and cut the colonel off, but failed to sound particularly intimidating given how he balled himself tighter and expelled a long, careful breath as if he was doing all he could to keep from gagging again. Roy said nothing, mostly because he was unsure how to respond, but Ed continued after a moment anyway. "They just called it food poisoning and strapped an IV to my arm until I stopped throwing up."

A tense silence drifted for a beat until Roy managed to coerce his voice into working. "They know what they're doing. If they aren't worried about it, then-"

"You don't know that," Edward exclaimed again, voice muffled as he pulled the sheets closer to his head, clutching them tightly. "They weren't worried about my mom's illness at first either."

And then it dawned on him- or more accurately, it was unceremoniously shoved in his face. Of course it all came down to his mother. Any relief Roy might have felt at seeing that Ed was able to hold a conversation immediately vanished, and he was left to desperately grasp at nothing, silently pleading for some way to respond to _that._ He never learned of any specifics regarding the details of Trisha Elric's death; only that whatever she had was deemed incurable. But why did Edward have to bring it up so abruptly? Looking at him, Roy had the growing suspicion that his illness was starting to get to his brain. But whatever the case, Roy was forced to go along with it.

"And- and then she got worse and couldn't afford to take the trip back to the city." His weakened voice began to crack and waver. At first, Roy thought that was simply due to his nausea, and that he was fighting past it for the sake of speaking. "She stayed and kept getting _worse_ so she could spend more time with me and Al. The doctors couldn't do anything at that point anyway. T-there was nothing…" And then he sniffed pathetically into his arms and lacked the strength to keep talking. Roy only then realized that he was speaking unconsciously, maybe even forgetting that he was still in the room.

Roy found himself approaching the side of the bed, just an arm's reach away from Edward's shivering form. He watched the kid silently for a moment, thoughts and possible solutions running rapidly through his mind, but going far too quickly for him to narrow in on any. Damn it, why couldn't he _think?_

Long before he got anywhere remotely close to a decision, Edward began to cough- once, twice, then again with far more vehemence that shook his entire body, continuing until he was gasping for breath. Each cough was loud and violent and deprived him of any and all control. All the kid could do was hug himself as his throat tore itself apart. And all Roy found himself able to do was stand there like a useless log on the side of the road.

Something in his gut twisted anxiously as he watched, jaw set and fists curled at his sides. Roy wanted- _needed_ to do something for Edward, but the desire only grew restlessly stronger the longer he went without knowing a solution as he was frozen in place.

Edward's coughing finally quieted down, but was followed by a heavy, clipped breathing that sounded frighteningly similar to a sob.

"I- I don't want to die," Roy vaguely heard Edward mutter from his ball. "I d-don't want to leave Al… l-like how she had to leave us. I can't put him through that. I can't."

Ed's shoulders shook, but not from coughing or a gag reflex. Roy forced himself to peer over the edge of the bed again and caught a glimpse of tears sneaking from the blond's shut eyes. He didn't know if it was caused by pain or voicing his fears, but something snapped in Roy's chest all the same. Suddenly all thoughts of rushing him to the hospital were swept away by a more urgent concern.

He sat down on the side of the bed and put a hand on Edward's shoulder, tightly enough to ensure the kid was aware of his presence. "Listen to me Ed," he started, extracting a startled flinch. He still did not turn to look at the colonel, however. "You're not going to die. Do you hear me?" Again, the blond only sniffed. "You're going to be fine. I promise you that."

A voice in the back of his mind asked if he had any right to make such a promise. If Edward really had whatever it was that took his mother, then how could Roy expect to do anything about it? But a more reasonable voice said that it was unlikely to be the case. Chances were, he ate something that was a few weeks expired or maybe even that nameless band of thugs in Cameron did something to get him out of their hair. Once given a moment to think through it clearly, he reasoned that if even the hospital could not detect anything too harmful in his system, then the only thing to do was wait it out. Or at least, that would be the plan until he got more information.

"Y-you don't… know that for sure," Ed breathed weakly, tripping through his words as he absently rubbed at his eyes.

"Yes I do," Roy insisted calmly, adding more reassuring pressure to his grip on Ed's shoulder. "Hawkeye is on her way with something to help. You'll be fine after you get some rest." Edward grumbled incomprehensibly, apparently unconvinced. Roy frowned in concentration. "Come on, you trust me, don't you?"

Edward didn't react for several beats as if he hadn't heard the question, but after a moment, he turned his head to look up at the colonel, eyes red and moist. His gaze looked distant and distracted and he was clearly struggling to focus, slowly sorting through his words. "I… guess," he eventually responded, somehow reluctantly as he swiftly drew his eyes away again and withdrew back into his little ball, albeit not as tightly as before.

"Good enough," Roy sighed, figuring that was the best response he was going to get. He pulled himself further onto the bed besides Ed, sitting up against the headboard. He figured they still had some time before Hawkeye arrived, and the least he could do for the time being was give him some silent company and a gentle pat on the back.


	4. Chapter 4

The next half hour or so passed with ease as Roy's attention was either wrapped idly by his own wandering thoughts, or focused on calming down Edward. He seemed to have drifted into sleep a few times as he was curled up on the bed besides Roy, who had mindlessly continued to rub circles on the kid's back once he began to stir, fitful from whatever sick-induced dream he was having.

Edward would occasionally blink wearily back into consciousness and mumble under his breath, repeating that he did not want to die, that he was afraid, nonsensical apologies to his brother, and showing no indication that he was aware of the words that slipped past his dry lips. He was always shaking whenever he awoke like that, which thankfully eased slightly when Roy spoke up, telling him over again that he would be alright, consistently and without fail.

The longer Roy remained in that dark room with his young subordinate curled up in agony besides him, the stronger the ache in his chest became. Questions of how he could have stopped this from happening spun in a whirlwind of doubt, but no answers ever came to light. And if they had, it would have changed nothing.

There were too many unknowns to find answers within his own mind anyway. He had to keep telling himself that to keep still, fighting off the urge to jump up and find the solution he so badly craved. He couldn't- not now, when Edward needed him there. The kid would deny it fiercely, but there was no hiding the fact that at least some of the irrational fear that clung around the blond loosened as long as Roy stayed by his side.

That was all the gratification he needed.

Almost an hour had passed before there was a light knock at the door. Roy jolted at the sudden sound, having grown so used to the relative silence that passed between the two alchemists. At either his movement or the sound, Edward groaned and dig further into the bundle of sheets, unknowingly pressing further into the side of Roy's leg. His chest tightened uncomfortable at the prospect of getting up and potentially disturbing him, but he didn't have a choice in the matter. He decisively pulled away from Edward and slipped back onto his feet. Ed noticed the sudden lack of warmth and subconsciously shifted to make up for it, but he looked less content.

Roy rubbed at his eyes and attempted to straighten out his uniform as he approached the door and unlocked it for Hawkeye, who greeted him with a plastic bag filled with what he assumed to be medicine.

He felt some of the tension unwind at the sight of her; strong, confident- she knew exactly what she was doing. Meanwhile, Roy still felt like he was fumbling in the dark. He suspected the past hour only went by smoothly because Ed was so delirious.

"I'm glad you're here," Roy heard himself breath as his shoulders slackened.

"I bought some things to help with the pain and nausea," she announced as she walked past him, getting right down to business.

Roy closed the door behind her and followed as she approached the dorm's only small table. Both officers eyed the stacks of books that covered the cluttered surface warily. But without any other choice, Hawkeye placed a bottle of pills from the bag onto one of the hardcover books. She then looked over to the bundle that was Edward and pursed her lip in thought. "Has he been able to keep anything down?"

The colonel hesitated to answer, which attracted her critical gaze to fall on him before he willed out a response. "I haven't gotten him to try…"

"Roy." He tensed as she used his first name, knowing from experience that that hardly ever meant anything good. She sighed, her features easing slightly when he failed to come up with an excuse. "You'll have to _try_ to get him to at least drink something. Hopefully this will help," Hawkeye said and pulled out a set of four bottles of ginger ale from the bag. The glass clinked against each other as she found a spot to put them down. "He needs to get something in his stomach."

"Yeah," Roy agreed lamely. He was not looking forward to fighting the kid on this again. He glanced at the child in question for a moment, dourly noticing how easily he drowned in the room and how small he looked when the bulking suit of armor wasn't by his side. And speaking of which… "Hawkeye," he began again, quickly snapping back into focus. "I need to speak to you about Alphonse."

"Have you found out where he is?" she asked quietly as the colonel guided her to the far end of the room from Edward.

"He's still in Cameron," Roy answered, unsurprised by the curious glance she gave him. "From what I could gather, he's completing the mission I assigned Fullmetal since he's sick. They were trying to keep it a secret." He paused with a sigh, combing over all of the nonsense that Edward rambled through earlier, trying to sort it into something that made sense. "While there, it seems like they got involved in something they shouldn't. Alphonse thinks someone had poisoned Edward to keep them from interfering. Whatever the case, I doubt it's life threatening. But it looks like Al has decided to take on this group himself, so I want you to send a team to deal with them and bring him back."

"Do you think he's in danger?" she asked in a hushed tone so the protective older brother could not hear if he happened to be listening.

"Judging on how Edward was taking it, I don't think so. But he should be here with his brother."

"I agree," the blonde said with a short nod as she cast Ed a quick glance. "I'll have him retrieved and back here by tomorrow."

"Good," Roy answered with a small smile, grateful to have one of his many worries be lifted from his shoulders. He could always count on Hawkeye.

The blonde turned and cast the sleeping teen one last look before looking back to Roy. "I should get going. There's already enough work that needs to be done with the deadline for that paperwork coming up."

Roy felt the impulse to say something to make her stay, but there was no excuse he could come up with that she wouldn't see through immediately. She had a job to do, and so did he. Although there were many times where he considered asking her to switch.

"Alright," he said instead and followed her to the door. "Wish me luck," he said almost sarcastically as she walked ahead and opened the door for herself.

"You won't need luck, sir," she said, making him wonder where the confidence came from, and wishing he had more for himself. "You'll know what to do." And without another word, she disappeared into the hall, leaving Roy with the sick child once again.

With a heavy sigh, he closed the door and moved back towards the center of the room, yawning as he reached the bedside. Edward seemed to be sleeping well enough. A nap certainly didn't seem like a bad idea, now that he thought about it. It seemed like trying to care for the kid had drained him fairly easily.

Maybe if he just... rested his eyes for a moment while he had the chance. As quietly as possible, Roy allowed himself to take a seat on the side of the bed besides Edward, ensuring he did not disturb him. He would deal with the medicine once the kid woke up. No need to interrupt the rest that he so dearly needed.

However, the colonel did not have to wait long. Only minutes past before Edward noticed his presence.

Edward shifted on the bed, a low grumble coming from the back of his throat as he struggled to become comfortable. Roy sat up straighter and watched the kid for a moment, torn on how to approach this.

"Ed?" he said more quietly than planned. "Are you awake?"

"No," he heard him breath as he pressed his face into a pillow.

"Hawkeye brought some things over for you. They'll make you feel better," Roy tried, unable to help how awkward he felt by trying to cajole the kid to cooperate. He usually used direct orders or pure charisma to make people do what he wanted. Whatever _this_ was, it was far out of his comfort zone.

The promise of relief apparently made it through the tired fog that surrounded Edward. He slowly pushed himself up with an elbow and blinked wearily at the colonel for a moment, eyes squinting through the dimness. Roy took this as a good time to slip back onto his feet, open the bottle of pills and quickly fill a cup of water from the sink, deciding it would be safer to wait and see if he could manage this much before giving him something carbonated.

Edward glared at the offering disdainfully for a second before dropping back onto the bed and beginning to turn away.

"Hey- Ed, you need to swallow these. They'll make you feel better."

"Won't work," he said tersely. Roy paused, forced to reason through the few short words and assumed he meant he wouldn't be able to keep them down.

"You need to try… Hawkeye will probably kill me if you don't."

Ed made a faint sound with a quick exhale that would have been a scoff if he had the energy. Roy watched him for a moment as if expecting the kid to jump up and accept the medicine, but when that didn't happen, he withheld a sigh and knelt down alongside bed, propping his arms up on the mattress as he held the pills and the cup of water. Now on eye level, he stared at Ed until his golden eyes cracked open to glance at him, stubborn and obviously pained.

"You'll feel better," Roy said again, insistent, trying to somehow get through to him with sheer determination.

As they held contact, something hardened in Edward's eyes for a moment before he shied away with something else that resembled shame. In that moment, Roy realized that he had a faint, hopeful smile on his face, which slipped away the moment he was conscious of it. For a moment, he had forgotten his station. He had forgotten that he was Edward's superior officer, that he wasn't supposed to be here, and that Ed didn't even _want_ him here in spite of what he needed. Ed was ashamed and embarrassed of what he let Roy see, and of the roll he was forced to play.

Edward glared at the sheets for a moment and took a deep breath. He then slowly and decisively pushed himself up into a hunched sitting position and swiped the pills without looking up at the colonel. Still appearing mildly dazed and unbalanced, he hesitantly took the cup of water as well, as if he was just then realizing that he had decided to do. He looked down at the glass with a flash of doubt and worry crossing his visage, then swallowed thickly, frozen by dread and uncertainty. Ed glanced at Roy, almost with a plea in his eyes, but looked away when he was met with that damn unintentional hope that was surely demeaning in some way.

With another quick breath, Edward threw the two pills into his mouth and took a gulp of water, quickly handing the glass back to Roy as he shut his eyes and swallowed, fists curled and shoulders tense as he put all his meager energy into simply breathing. Then a hand went up to his chest, fingers grabbing around the fabric of his shirt, brow furrowing. Roy could only watch with his breath held stubbornly in his lungs, unable to do anything to help.

Beats of silence passed until Roy began to wonder how long Ed would remain like that. But just as the thought crossed his mind, a small _whimper_ came from the young alchemist as his lip pursed and a sharp shiver ran up his back. Roy found himself rising and grabbing a nearby wastebasket before situating himself on the edge of the bed without any thought put into the action, placing himself by Edward's side. As far as he knew, the kid did not register his movement, far too focused on keeping the water and medicine in his stomach to think of anything else.

"You're going to be alright," he reminded quietly, putting a hand on one of Edward's quivering shoulders. Roy didn't know if is actions were correct or if there was something better he could have been doing, but he liked to think that it helped somewhat. Ed did not respond, perhaps because he wasn't able to, or maybe simply because he didn't want to.

Ed's head lowered and dug his heels into the mattress as if he could push the pain away. When that didn't work, he made another small involuntary whine and shifted his arms to tightly hug himself. Roy decided not to move, despite how he yearned to do something more- to help more. But he feared that too much movement of any kind would risk further upsetting him.

Seconds passed by without words and Ed's breathing slowly began to steady and Roy allowed his hopes to rise. However, it was all in vain when his golden eyes shot open and his flesh hand rose to cover his mouth and his attention was abruptly drawn to the bathroom door, taking that split second to decide if he could make it in time. Before he could move however, Roy reached for the small plastic wastebasket that he had dragged over and held it up, which was swiftly taken from him.

Edward coughed and retched into the basket, arms wrapped around the outside and gripping desperately onto the rim. His hair tie had loosened earlier as he moved around, allowing strands to fall dangerously close to his face, but he was far too distracted to do anything about it. Roy, still with one hand on the kid's back, carefully moved his hair out of the way just as he broke into a coughing fit.

Roy heard himself whisper soft assurances to the boy, not entirely sure what he was saying but almost certain it didn't matter to Ed either way.

Edward returned to his heavy breathing, gasping into the basket, not yet bothering to rise his head. Still, Roy continued on with his meaningless litany while he drew circles into his back and mindlessly combed through Ed's hair with his fingers. Meanwhile, an irate voice in the far back of his mind was heedlessly insistent on reminding him that this was strange, and that this wasn't his place. But as his only consolation, the colonel told himself that Ed was likely too dazed and confused to remember that this strange moment had passed between them anyway. Besides, he would rather deal with the embarrassment that persisted when abandoning him was the only alternative.

Edward coughed again and spat into the bucket, rising from his slouch just slightly but still staring absently downward, seemingly unsure if he was done or not. Roy waited a moment, then when nothing happened, retrieved the cup of water he had left on the side table and offered it to Edward once more. He narrowly stared at it for a moment, internally weighing his options, then accepted the cup and took a generous sip that was quickly swished around and spat out into the bin.

The blond allowed his tired eyes to fall shut as he hung over the wastebasket after absently wiping at his chin, radiating an air of exhausted misery. Roy noticed with no small amount of concern that his lip quivered with every exhale and a wetness formed through his eyelashes, threatening to fall down his face.

For not the first time that evening, Roy was amazed at how tenaciously Edward suffered silently. He wanted so badly to appear strong, and even while not entirely coherent, still did all he could to keep Roy from seeing the full extent of it. Somehow, realizing that hurt more than he thought it had any right to.

"You're okay," Roy muttered absently, all too easily feeling Ed's back heave with every breath. Edward of course did not audibly respond. Instead, he minutely shook his head with another quite groan of pain escaping his ajar mouth. He didn't seem all too convinced, but didn't fight when Roy put a hand on the rim of the basket, testing to see if Ed would let him draw it away. He did, and so Roy left it on the floor to be cleaned out later. He might have gotten up to do it then, but his attention was quickly pulled away as Edward began to shuffle to lie back down. But before he could get there, discomfort slid onto his face and he stopped, turning slightly, struggling to find a position that was comfortable and wouldn't upset his sensitive stomach. He again made a discontent and surprisingly sad noise as he pushed himself back up, settling for sitting in a hunched position, holding himself up with his shaking arms, looking down.

"What's wrong?" Roy asked without thinking.

"I- I can't-" he paused and shifted his weight so he could wrap one arm around himself, as if it alone would be enough to ease the pain. He trailed off, but certainly didn't need to explain for the colonel to understand. Despite there being nothing left in his stomach, any which way he tried to lie down caused the fear that his gag reflex would jump into action again. Part of his tired irrational mind must have thought that he was trapped sitting up for the rest of the night; and just the prospect of it struck a sensitive cord. His mind wasn't working clearly, his emotions were in disarray, and Roy couldn't help but notice the pang of sympathy he felt for him.

With a soundless sigh, inwardly wondering if he would come to regret his decision, Roy pushed himself further onto the bed and sat against the headboard. Edward paid little attention to him, imbalanced and looking as if he was doing all he could just to keep from collapsing.

Committed to help in _some way_ , Roy leaned towards him and put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, which seemed to be ignored due to the fog that clouded the kid's mind.

"Edward," he began hesitantly. "You're tired, aren't you?"

It took him a moment to process the words and muster up a response. "Yeah, but I- if I lay down, I... I'll-" The sentence fell away when Roy gently pulled Ed closer to him. He wearily scrambled to keep himself upright at first, not expecting to feel gravity turn on him. But Roy kept a steady grip on him until he stopped struggling, pulling him over to his side and guiding him to lean on him. Edward complied, though clearly confused, too tired to resist.

"...What're you do'n?" Ed mumbled as he rubbed at his face. Judging on the tension in his muscles, he wasn't eager to use the colonel's side like a pillow, but the sheer exhaustion grew stronger with every passing second, sapping the lingering strength from him against his will.

"Don't worry about it," Roy answered vaguely as Ed began to give up and lean on him, eyes already fluttering to a close. If he couldn't get comfortable lying down, then at least this way he would be able to fall asleep. Roy would just have to move him after he was knocked out, which didn't seem like it would take long, he thought as Edward's breathing began to steady out already.

The kid was like a dead weight against him with his arms wrapped weakly around himself and a subtle warmth undulating from his skin.

Roy wasn't going to worry too much just yet. At least the kid was sleeping, although he wished he could have kept the water down in his system. Hopefully they'd have better luck when he woke up.

In the meantime, all he could do was wait it out once again. Roy leaned his head against the backboard, gazing lazily up at the dark ceiling and holding back a yawn as he failed to realize that his arm remained rested lightly around Edward's shoulders.

* * *

Roy woke abruptly as a piece of metal slammed into his chin, jolting him out of whatever dream he was having, it already long forgotten. Eyes wide and back straight as a rod, he urgently scanned the room until he noticed Edward had been laying in his lap, twisting and expression contorted in pain. He was mumbling almost incoherent warnings to some unseen enemy, telling them to get away. His automail arm had flailed in a blind attempt to fight back, surely leaving a bruise on his chin.

"Hey, Ed- it's okay," he urged as he scrambled to hold the hysterical kid's arms down before he got struck again.

Thankfully, it didn't take much to stir Edward from his disruptive slumber. The moment the colonel's voice reached his ears, his eyes flew open and he hastily broke out of Roy's grip to sit up, panting heavily and searching around the room in case the monster in his dream followed him out.

"Edward," Roy said sternly, returning his hands around his subordinate's arms to get his attention. Ed turned to look at him, eyes frantic and wild, not yet realizing what was happening. "You're fine, everything's fine. It was just a dream."

He just stared back at him for a moment, digesting the words and breathing to return the air to his lungs. "Where's Al?" he asked at last.

Roy purses his lip, mind churning through all the directions this could go. "Cameron," he answered simply, letting his arms drop to his sides as the initial alarm of the rude awakening wore off. "I sent a team to get him out."

Ed opened his mouth to ask another question, but stopped before the words could form, staring into nothing as his mind sorted through the answers that he already knew.

Roy exhaled slowly as he was distracted and looked around the room, noticing how much darker it had gotten. He quickly gave up on reading the nearest clock with no light to assist him, but they had clearly slept well into the middle of the night.

The colonel turned back to Ed, blinking wearily. But the blond was still sitting straight, shoulders tense and eyes still far too focused.

"I need to get to him," he said so quietly and quickly that Roy almost didn't register his intent until he started to get up.

Roy immediately knew that he wasn't thinking clearly. Whatever he was draming about, Ed had been shaken by it and didn't realize that no good would come from him doing anything besides resting. Abruptly, before the kid could get far, Roy reached forward and grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled back with just enough strength to guide him back towards him, muttering a quick "no you don't" as he did so.

"Stop, I- I need to-"

"You don't need to do anything besides sleep," Roy reminded sternly, but his words were ignored and Edward tried to shrug out of his grip, too tired to listen and too stubborn to give up. Roy bit his tongue before he could snap at the kid to knock it off, thinking better of it. Ed was probably not even aware that he wasn't still sleeping. Finally, Roy had more than enough of it and decisively reached out before Ed would scramble away again and wrapped both arms tightly around him even as he squirmed to resist.

"Quit trying to stop me," the kid murmured weakly. He tried to physically pull Roy's arms from around him, but in his state, he was not able to make much progress. "I need to get to him!"

"Alphonse is _fine_ , Edward. He's probably on his way here right now. He'll be much happier if you're resting by the time he gets here," Roy tried to reason, vaguely aware that there was no point while the kid was like this.

"No- no, I-" The fight began to drain out of him, his struggling only growing more and more in vain against Roy's grip. Still sitting against the headboard, Roy continued his hold around the blond, but lightened slightly if only just to make him more comfortable. Ed eventually slumped against him, giving into the exhaustion that his illness helped to accelerate. "Al," he muttered under his breath between heavy breaths, managing to still cause a sharp pang of pity despite Roy knowing that they had nothing to worry about.

He never moved his hands back from trying to pry Roy's grip from around him, leaving him almost holding onto him without even realizing. With Edward now leaning against his arms, the colonel knew he would collapse like a rag doll if he let go. He supposed he didn't have much of a choice but to continuing holding him. Roy doubted he would get any sleep in his current position, and god knew he still needed some, but as long as the kid was able to rest, he supposed that's all that really mattered.


	5. Chapter 5

Roy could not say that he was having a particularly restful night. He woke again that same night, but thankfully not because he was assaulted this time. In fact, there didn't seem to be anything in particular that stirred him from his sleep. But at some unfathomable time in the night, or very early morning for all he knew, Roy blinked some focus into his eyes and observed his surroundings, unsurprised when he saw nothing of note.

Well, nothing besides the unconscious teen laying against him. While perhaps not entire aware of it, Edward had apparently taken advantage of the idea of using Roy as a pillow and had somehow ended up resting his head on the colonel's chest. Roy glanced down at him but was unable to see much beyond his messy hair. But since he wasn't moving around, he could assume that the kid was sleeping soundly. Besides, he didn't seem too warm, but not cold either. It was difficult to discern much as things were, but from what he could tell, Edward looked content.

Perhaps part of him wanted to wake up just to confirm that. Roy didn't quite have the mental capacity to think too clearly, but at least at the moment, he had no problem with going with that theory. He was too tired to bother denying it to himself anyway.

Careful to avoid bumping into the slumbering kid, Roy rose an arm to rub wearily at his eyes and resisted the urge to shift into a more comfortable position. With Ed laying against him, he wouldn't be moving anytime soon.

But with his eyes feeling so heavy, he figured that was fine. There were still a few hours until morning anyway.

* * *

Early morning sunlight drifted in from the single window, slipping past the blinds effortlessly and landing on Roy's eyelids. He tried to turn away from it, but the warm weight on his chest kept him still. It took a moment for his groggy mind to remember yet again what was keeping him from moving, but a portion of the weariness vanished the moment he thought of Ed.

It looked as if he had shifted at some point between then and when Roy woke up a few hours ago, but looked equally as comfortable as he huddled against his side for warmth. He had moved more onto his side and still seemed to be deep in sleep, but Roy was now able to get a good look at his face. He indeed did not seem tense in any way, and with further examination, the colonel had confirmed that his temperature seemed to have gone down before it could turn into a full-blown fever. Chances were, Edward had already passed that stage before Roy got involved, considering how bad off he seemed earlier.

Roy couldn't say if any of his efforts beyond causing Havoc to take Ed to the hospital really did anything, but he liked to think so. It was hard not to think that- at least a little bit- as the young alchemist literally clung onto him.

It comforted Roy to know that he managed to do some good for someone. It wasn't every day that he was able to act on the opportunity to help another without any anterior motive. Given his career and his past, the colonel was much more familiar with harming others, whether it be criminals who deserved it, or the innocent who did not.

There were times where he doubted himself capable of selflessly coming to the aid of another person. Especially on those lonely nights when he had just a little too much alcohol after something stirred up old memories that were just a little too vivid.

He may have helped the Elrics by giving them the opportunity to get their lives together by joining the military at such a young age, but that was first and foremost for his own personal gain. He never denied that fact, but it wasn't until he got to know them better did he really appreciate the effect it made on their lives. He always knew it would, of course- that was the whole point. But he supposed he simply didn't care on a more personal level until later.

But back then, he never expected himself to get to that point. He was cynically trying to move on from the war, redirect his attention in any way he could, even if it meant taking advantage of the ambitions of children. It was no wonder people looked down on him for that, but it truly turned out for the best.

The newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Mustang would have had second thoughts if he looked into the future and saw where he was now, in a sick child's dorm. But as far as the present was concerned, he was glad that was impossible.

At some point during his internal mulling, Roy had dropped his head back again and let his eyes close, seeing as he wouldn't be getting up any time soon. But not long after, Edward began to stir and mumbled something as his eyes flickered, slowly phasing out of his sleep. For both of their sake, Roy decided to feign unconsciousness so the kid could remember where he was without choking on embarrassment.

In a matter of seconds, he felt Ed groggily lift his head, look around, and then detach himself from Roy as quickly and abruptly as physically possible. He scrambled to the other side of the bed, although with a sense of caution as if careful to not wake the colonel. Once he had distanced himself, Roy cracked his eyes open just as Ed had reached to the side table for the class of water that was left there overnight. Willingly drinking was definitely a good sign.

Roy softly cleared his throat as he pushed himself to sit up as he rubbed his eyes, both because he was honestly still a little tired, and also to help encourage the impression that Edward woke up first.

"Morning," he yawned easily. "How are you feeling?"

Edward took a moment before responding as if he needed to think about the question. "Better," he said eventually, turning to lean against the headboard so Roy didn't have to look at his back.

"Do you need anything?" Roy asked, glancing back at the table that held a million books, as well as the ginger ale and medicine, and the food that wasn't there but definitely should be.

"Not right now."

"Are you hungry?"

"Uh… not right now?" the kid responded slowly as he blinked tiredly.

"Ed, you _need_ to eat."

"I know, I know. I will. Can I be awake for more than ten seconds before you shove food down my throat?"

Roy sighed, but bit down on the irritated response that came to mind. He chose to take Ed's snarkiness as a good sign that he was feeling better.

"Fine, fine," Roy sighed, inwardly chastising himself for not expecting to be immediately annoyed the moment Edward was conscious enough to be himself.

Silence fell onto the room as the brief conversation drifted off. Neither alchemist minded however, as Edward focused on downing the glass of water, and Roy kept himself preoccupied with his own turning thoughts. Though things were looking better now, he still had to figure out the best way to get the kid some food, and ensure that it was something he could keep down. It would do him no good to get ahead of himself, now that he was seeing promising signs of recovery.

A knock rung against the door, causing both Roy and Ed stare at the door in silence. For a moment, Roy had nearly forgotten that he was expected to answer it. He cleared his throat as he rose to his feet, and crossed the cluttered, dark room, idly wondering if he should turn the light on while he was up. But with Ed in mind, he dismissed the idea for the time being.

But just before his hand could grab the handle, the door burst open, forcing him to just narrowly step out of the way to avoid it slamming into him. His involuntary gasp was obscured by the suit of armor standing in the doorway, calling for his brother.

"Ed!"

"Al?" Edward spun towards the door and blinked as if Al appeared out of thin air.

Roy stepped out of the way to allow the younger brother in. In his obvious rush to get here, he must have temporarily forgotten that he didn't need to knock on his own door to get inside.

"Brother! You're looking much better," he said excitedly as he approached the end of the bed.

Edward slowly forced himself to sit up a little straighter and greet Al with a smile. "Yeah, I'm feeling better. I told you there was nothing to worry about. So what happened in Cameron?"

"Sir." Hawkeye's voice pulled Roy's attention away from the two as she stepped into the room once Al moved further in, switching the light on as she did so. "The people in Cameron who had likely poisoned Edward have been arrested and are being questioned as we speak. They were very tight-lipped when we caught them, but the officials in Cameron seem to be familiar of them."

"I see. That's good; they were probably a band of thieves or drug dealers who assumed the Elrics were there for them. I'm willing to bet that they dug their own graves." Roy hardly cared to look further into it, personally. He was glad they were behind bars for poisoning his subordinate, and was certain they wouldn't get out any time soon, in addition to whatever crimes they stacked up against the town of Cameron anyway. It was no longer his problem, now that Edward was doing so much better.

"That seems likely," Hawkeye agreed as the two boys spoke animatedly in the background. "How did things go here last night?"

"As well as could be expected," Roy replied with a shrug despite his mind flashing back to Ed's hysterical rambling. "He still needs to eat something, but I don't think that'll be a problem with how things are going, especially with Alphonse back here."

Hawkeye nodded besides him as they both watched the Elrics for a short moment.

Then she ruined it. "If we're done here, we should get back to the office."

Roy paused, the words stuck in his throat for a moment until he was able to force them out. "Right now?"

"Yes, right now. You could stop to get a change of clothes if you prefer," she added, casting a wearily glance to his wrinkled uniform, that he nearly forgot he had been wearing this entire time, "but we already lost enough time with you absent. Don't forget that the deadline is coming up."

"But-" The argument died on his tongue with the look she gave him, silencing him effortlessly. As immensely as he enjoyed getting away from work and the piles of paperwork, the logical part of his mind knew that it wouldn't last. He would have to pay the price for escaping for this long eventually. He sighed deeply, making no effort to hide how badly he did not want to go to the office. "Alright, alright…"

Hawkeye nodded curtly, then turned to the two young alchemists. "Now then; unless there's anything else you need, the colonel and I will be heading back now."

"Uh… alright," Edward said simply as he glanced at Roy, then diverted his gaze back to Hawkeye.

"Okay," followed Al with much more energy. "Thanks for everything!"

"Not a problem," Roy smiles wearily as Hawkeye stepped around him to leave, somehow willing him to follow. "Make sure you eat, Fullm- Alphonse, make sure he eats!" he added hastily, knowing his chances were much better if he went through the younger brother.

"I will, responded Alphonse easily as Ed looked mildly annoyed, as usual.

Roy still felt somewhat unsatisfied when he closed the door behind him, but he supposed it didn't matter. He would keep monitoring Edward's recovery through the days to come- for as long as he had to.

* * *

Once the door closed with the two officers disappearing behind it, Edward sat at the edge of the bed with his arms extended behind him to keep himself up. He didn't really care to spend energy on standing up for no reason, especially now that Alphonse was here.

"I'm glad you're back," he heard himself repeat. Al looked over at him without an immediate response, but he could easily sense the smile in his soulful eyes.

"So am I. To be honest, dealing with those guys in Cameron was exhausting. It's good Hawkeye and everyone came when they did. Their help really moved things along."

Edward just nodded as he tried to picture the event, part of him still wishing he hadn't left.

Alphonse was silent for a moment as some sense of awkwardness seemed to overtake him. He shuffled his metal feet and avoided Ed's gaze. "And uh... sorry about blowing the secret to Colonel Mustang over the phone earlier. I didn't realize it was him."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Edward responded immediately with a disregarding wave of his hand. "It turned out for the best anyway." That much at least was true, despite how little he wanted to admit it- at least to Mustang's face. He didn't want to think about how he and Al would be doing then if it wasn't for the colonel's interference.

"How did everything go with him, anyway?" the younger Elric asked after a beat. "You spent a whole night in the same room, and nothing's destroyed."

Edward scoffed lightheartedly as he considered the question. "It… wasn't that bad," he heard himself say before he could fully process the words. Mustang wasn't a colossal asshole the entire time, which was… nice- and surprising, more importantly. As keen as he was to get the entire event out of his mind, Ed couldn't help but think about the images that made it through the tired, sick daze of the night before.

Most of them weren't that interesting, but he did slightly remember a strong sense of panic, for reasons now unknown to him, and Mustang holding him down so he wouldn't hurt himself or do something dumb. Or… something like that. There seemed to be a lot of that; just the colonel being right beside him. Ed couldn't remember what the man ever said to him, but he recalled being comforted by it.

He was suddenly reminded that Al was watching him, and blinked some focus back into his eyes, slightly flustered by how he felt his face warm up in embarrassment. Damn it- how was he supposed to go to work again knowing that Mustang had to lock him in a hug just so he could fall asleep in the middle of the night? Just the possibility of walking into the office to be greeted by a smug, condescending smirk nauseated him to no end. God, he's rather have the whole ordeal be wiped from the colonel's mind, if not his own as well.

"Are you alright, Brother?" Alphonse asked suddenly, further shaking him out of his tidal wave of pointless worries.

Ed tried to shake the thoughts away, settling for the time being by hoping that Mustang assumed he did not remember, and just wouldn't bring it up. He was betting on the man's good graces, which was… _extremely_ unlikely, but he wasn't given much of a choice here, it seemed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered automatically. But as he heard the words, he began to actually consider the question. It seemed to be a simple truth that he was only as fine as he was because of Mustang. Whatever his motivation for showing concern was, there was no denying that he helped. Edward clearly remembered feeling absolutely miserable in every sense of the word yesterday, but somehow his presence helped. In comparison to then, he was doing better than fine, but just nodded to himself instead of correcting his word choice.

In all honesty, he still wasn't feeling completely healed, but that was to be expected.

"That's good," Al breathed as his shoulders seem to relax somehow. "Maybe we can return the favor to Colonel Mustang at some point."

"Hell no," Edward scoffed, switching gears with ease. "He barely did anything. We're better off forgetting about it."

"Whatever you say," Alphonse replied casually, but something in his tone strongly suggested that he wasn't quite convinced. Whatever. They didn't need to go over it.

"Oh, could you pass me one of those bottles?" Ed asked as his eyes suddenly landed on the case of ginger ale that Hawkeye had brought him the other day. Alphonse agreed and handed him one from the small cluttered table without having to take more than one step.

He snapped the cap off easily with the help of his automail and took a sip, idly reconsidering Al's suggestion. The thought of showing up at Mustang's doorstep with a melon basket as thanks certainly did not appeal to him in the slightest. But despite what he said, he didn't want to be indebted to the colonel any longer than he had to. Maybe he would just keep an eye out and wait for the older alchemist to get sick, and show up uninvited with a case of ginger ale and throw a bottle of medicine at his head. That'll show him for butting in… And then he would loudly say something witty, like _get a taste of your own medicine_ before running off victoriously.

Yeah, that could work.

Edward leaned back and took another drink, now almost eager for the day that he could repay the favor.


End file.
